The Hive – Week Eight!

Welcome back to The Hive! This is a tough week as far as bye weeks are concerned, with such IDP stalwarts as Jared Allen, Brian Urlacher, D.J. Williams, Charles Tillman, Aaron Kampman and Antoine Winfield all will be chugging beers and eating nachos in their recliners on Sunday. Ok, maybe not, I just wanted to make some of you fatties feel better about what you will be doing on Sunday! Let’s move along to the week eight action!!

Game notes: The youngsters on the Raiders D are making some noise in recent weeks. Both Jay Richardson and rookie Trevor Scott are suddenly IDP options, depending on your format. Scott (filling in for the still ailing Derrick Burgess) will be rushing the right side of the Ravens line, the same side that has been abused by Robert Mathis and Joey Porter in the last couple weeks. The rookie could make a nice bye week filler for you Kampman or Allen owners. Richardson is the run stuffer, and would be a decent fill-in if your league is tackle heavy. For the Ravens their stout overall defense (excluding the embarrassment against the Colts) has not produced the IDP goodness it has in years past. I wouldn’t look for much out of anyone besides Lewis and Suggs.

Game notes: I am liking Adrian Wilson this week. He should be back to 100% after seeing limited duty for a couple weeks and having last week off to rest that hammy. The matchup is good, and he is highly playable this week. For the Panthers you really cant go wrong with any of their DB’s based on what the DB’s for other Cardinals opponents have done so far this season. Gamble is obviously the top option, but this isn’t a bad week at all to bust out Ken Lucas, who will likely be on Fitz.

Game notes: Any of the Bucs DB’s might make an interesting play this week. In particular if your league is interception heavy I like Jackson and Buchanon versus Brad Johnson and the slumping Dallas offense. On the Dallas side of the ball Demarcus Ware is a must start, outside of him I am not too excited about any of the Dallas IDP’s this week.

Game notes: Andre Carter makes his first appearance of the season in the Giddyup! column after being a regular in 2007. Yeah, the Lions OL is that bad. I’m telling you guys to start a guy who only has 2 sacks all season. WHOOOOOOOOO!! Jason Taylor might get some love too, but the fact that his calf still oozes and bleeds means I wont start him `cause he’s just too damn gross. Chris Horton might be the hottest rookie IDP of all, whodathunkit?? For the Lions I expect Bullucks and Sims to be busy, the rest would be a leap of faith in my book.

Game notes: For Buffalo their biggest free agent acquisition this past offseason started to pay off, as Kawicka Mitchell had a big game. He is probably on most wires due to his poor IDP totals to start the year, so keep your eye on him and see if he heats up. Terrence McGee is a no go this week, and Schobel is questionable. Though the matchup is tasty versus a questionable Dolphins offensive line, I would seek a healthier option this week barring a glowing Friday practice report. This just in: Yeremiah Bell is a beast. The guy is playing like Adrian Wilson circa 2005, and should not be benched in any format. Crowder has been good in tackle heavy leagues and I expect that to continue against the solid Bills run game. Joey Porter is going to smash his previous personal best of 10.5 in 2005, and he just might do it this week. He’s at 8.5 sacks for the season, and I like him a lot in sack heavy formats this week.

Game notes: OJ Atogwe is making himself richer by the week with his outstanding play. He is an unrestricted free agent after the `08 campaign and is showing us a perfect example of what players often do in contract years. Chris Long is coming on, and I expect his numbers to increase as the year goes on. There is a reason I wanted this kid in Oakland, and it ain’t because of who his daddy is. Kid is a serious player, and I think the Rams got a real gem. For the Pats I am not too thrilled with any of their IDP’s this week, though it will be interesting to see how young Brandon Merriweather develops as a full time starter. The Pats, sans some of their God-awful wide receiver picks, are usually excellent judges of talent, and most had Merriweather very highly rated coming out of The U.

Game notes: Beware of over-valuing Antonio Cromartie this week. Granted, the Saints passing game is often prolific, but Brees knows not to throw at the top corner on a team. Out of his 30 passs attempts against Oakland two weeks ago, only one went towards Asomugha. Cromartie is not in Aso’s class yet, but he is close, and I believe Brees will go after Jammer and Cason much more often. Eric Weddle has turned into a must start DB, and this week is certainly no exception. For the Saints, MLB Jonathan Vilma is among the league leaders in solo tackles, so much for the whispers out of New York last year that he was done. I am liking the Saints safety duo of Kaesviharn and Harper this week, they should get theirs against the Chargers offense.

Game notes: I like the Chiefs DB’s this week and not a whole lot else. On the New York side of things you have to be cautious with your expectations with the players that live off tackle numbers, like Harris and Rhodes. I don’t expect the Chiefs offense to do much of anything except take sacks and get stuffed at the line, so that is why my rankings for the Jets IDP’s look like they do. Calvin Pace would be my top choice out of their defensive guys this week. The CB’s also have a chance at IDP goodness this week, it just depends on how many times Herm lets Thigpen put it up.

Game notes: The Falcons are relatively healthy coming off their bye, and the safety duo of Coleman and Milloy should be busy against McNabb and the Eagles passing attack. Always good for the opposing IDP’s when Westbrook is healthy too, as he keeps drives going. On the Eagles side of things I am expecting big weeks out of Bradley and Gaither against Turner, and I would wager Dawkins and Mikell will be in top form.

Game notes: Sean Jones returned in a big way last week, and I expect his studly play to continue this week. If you were starting Mike Adams while Jones was out, he is now completely worthless barring another injury to Jones. For the Jags I like Mathis and Williams a lot this week against the shaken confidence that is known as Derek Anderson. And if Quinn comes in at halftime, even better, they will probably both toss a couple picks.

Game notes: Ndukwe and Bowtie Jones are on fire, and that should continue. According to the “Who The Sharks Are Starting” column here on Fantasy Sharks (which is one of the most useful front page items in my mind, outside of this column of course) many people are still starting Marvin White. Wake up people, he’s been benched for Dexter Jackson! Mario Williams is questionable this week, and I know with the Bengals Arena League-quality offensive line his owners are praying he is ready to rock. I like Ryans and Diles to have nice games as well against the plodding, between the tackles style of Ced Benson.

Game notes: This should be a good old fashioned slobberknocker, as two stout defenses and two solid running games collide. For Giants Tuck should have a big day against the poor pass protection of the Steelers. On the Pittsburgh side of things I would start Harrison, Woodley and Farrior with confidence. I do not think the Steelers will play as much nickel this week as they did last week, so I would cool your jets for at least a little while longer before you start Lawrence Timmons. He had a great game last week, but again it was due in part to the fact that the Bengals were behind all day and throwing a lot, and Timmons replaces Foote in the nickel. McFadden is out indefinitely with an injured arm, you can drop him in redraft leagues.

Game notes: Darryl Tapp is an excellent waiver target for those of you with a stud DE on a bye this week. He has a great matchup and has his starting gig back. I expect big things out of Tapp and Pat Kerney this week. For the Niners Justin Smith should be on Seneca Wallace like butter on toast, and Patrick Willis will be his usual manly self.

NO SUNDAY NIGHT GAME DUE TO STUPID BASEBALL.

– Have fun watching the grass grow on Sunday night, I mean watching the World Series.

Game notes: With Bob Sanders out at least a couple more games, look for Melvin Bullitt to continue his excellent IDP totals. You have to like the rest of the Colts LB’s as well, and Mathis is a stud who should never be benched at this point. The Titans offer plenty of IDP fun as well. Finnegan is a beast, and you know Nick Harper will be fired up to face his former team, you know, the one whose management thought he was too old to be an impact corner when he last came up for free agency? Oh yeah, it is on. Bulluck is looking like Bulluck again, and has put up multiple studly games thus far. He should be back in all IDP lineups.

Well that about wraps it up for week eight! Thanks for reading, and good luck to you in all of your IDP matchups!!

About Fantasy Sharks

FantasySharks.com began in 2003, disseminating fantasy football content on the web for free. It is, or has been, home to some of the most talented and best known fantasy writers on the planet. Owned and operated by Tony Holm (5 time Fantasy Sports Writer Association Hall-of-Fame nominee,) Tony started writing fantasy content in 1993 for the only three fantasy football web sites in existence at the time.